Forgetting Everything
by xprimrose
Summary: A girl wakes up remembering nothing except that she's a devil fruit user.Before she knows it, she's become part of the Baroque Works team as Ms 0. Crocodile refuses to tell her anything of her past, and so she must figure it out herself. A little crocxOC
1. Chapter 1

My eyes peeled open one at a time, hazy but just enough to see. Fuzzy parallel lines came into vision and my head met with a cold metal floor. Was this a cage? A rather unwelcoming place to be... I sat up straight and stretched my aching bones.

"You're awake." A malicious voice snarled. I looked around the room to locate the voice. In a chair not so far from where I was, a man with raven black hair sat cross legged with a cigar hanging out of his mouth. Something about his expression reminded me of one of those old mafia bosses.

"What is this place?" I asked. Now that my senses were coming back to me, I felt a spiking pain in the back of my head. I reached my hand up to rub it.

"You really don't remember a thing, do you?" He chuckled to himself. It was a deep, evil laugh. One that could send shivers up anyone's spine.

"Nope." I replied nonchalantly. "Not a thing." He laughed once more and stood up from his seat. He had a nice, thick build with long legs that were complimented by his expensive looking trousers. On his shoulders lay a fur coat with its arms dangling off the sides.

"Good." He said, smiling at me with dead eyes. Only now did I notice a tall woman standing beside him. She too, had mid length black hair. Her eyes were two beautiful blue orbs, and her face came to a perfect point at the chin. She hadn't said a word the entire time, which made me wonder why she was there.

"This cage…" I said, "What's it made of?"

"Are you wondering why you feel so weak?" He walked over to me with slow steps and stood directly at the door. "It's made of sea stone. Basically, it drains the energy from devil fruit users, just like the ocean would."

"Devil fruit…" I looked at my hands. "So I must be a devil fruit user."

"You've even forgotten that? That's a bit pathetic." He said to me. I stared at my hands and punched out into the space, but nothing happened. I frowned and tried it again, but nothing. "Don't you get it? You can't use your powers in here either." The door began to rattle and I heard it clink open. "Get out." He said to me. I looked at him for a moment and then proceeded to push myself off the floor and step out. Immediately I began to feel my energy returning to me. "Why don't you try blowing towards something?"

"Blowing?" I raised an eyebrow at him. Facing the table in the center of the room, I puckered my lips and blew. The table flew across the room and smashed into splintered pieces. I gasped and turned back to face the two.

"Now do you remember?"

"The Kaze-Kaze fruit…" I said nodding. "Yes, that much I can."

"Good, good." He chuckled again. "Now, Ms. All-Sunday. Lead her to the meeting room."

"Right away, Mr. 0." The woman beside him turned around and faced the door. I felt something behind me grab my arms. They felt like human flesh; someone's hands? I whipped my head around and gasped. Two arms had somehow sprouted themselves from my back and were keeping my arms tightly locked behind me.

"To make sure you don't try anything." The woman said without turning around. She must've been a devil fruit user too. As I walked towards her, I stopped right beside the man and turned to look at him.

"Hey," I said. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Eh?"

"You mind telling me who I am?" For a moment, I received no answer in return. Instead, the arms behind my back twisted my own and I let out a little yelp. "I'm coming, I'm coming." I mumbled, making my way towards the door.

"You will be called Ms. 0." He said. For a second I almost thought I saw the woman smirk, and then continue to walk on.

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><p>"As most of you may know, young Ms. 0, is now a part of our team." I was sitting in a chair directly across from the man from before. I had learned that his alias was "Mr. 0"and that's what I was to address him as. In the chairs surrounding us were all sorts of strange people, with odd looking outfits and hair. I assumed he was their leader of some sort.<p>

"Ms. 0? You've got to be kidding me. How did she get promoted to a higher rank than all of us?" A man with dark skin and sunglasses turned to look at me. He grimaced as he spoke. "She looks normal to me."

"Yeah, this isn't fair at all!" A blonde woman with a hat and umbrella also turned to glare at me. I paid them no attention and instead focused on Mr.0. In reality, I didn't know why I was being promoted either.

"Shut up you fools. Do you really think I'd choose just anyone to be my second in command? Don't underestimate her." He yelled at them.

"Then let's have her prove it." Said the man sitting nearest to him. He was a large man with white hair. His muscles were bigger than any other person I'd ever met. He furrowed his brows and I could feel his eyes boring into my skull.

"Very well. We will have a quick demonstration. Mr. 2, Miss Double-finger." Suddenly, the two of them came dashing towards me. The man was in a rather unique get up; a strange looking tutu and a fur coat with flamingoes sticking off the tops of it. The woman on the other hand, swayed her hips so much I thought they'd swindle right off. She suddenly grew thorns as hands and took a quick stab at me. I dodged it just in time and landed roughly on the balls of my feet. Mr. 2 began to spin towards me and kicked me with one of his long, flexible legs. I blocked it with my forearm and punched towards his direction. I didn't remember feeling contact with him but somehow he was sent flying across the room. _Right, I'm a wind bender,_ I remembered. The woman came running towards me and now her entire arm had become a thorn. She stabbed at me multiple times and I dodged each one just quick enough. One of her stabs ended up slicing a hole into my shirt and missed my skin by a centimeter.

"Ha-ha!" She laughed to herself in satisfaction. I took this chance to grab her shoulder and give her a whirlwind punch right to the gut. She too, was sent flailing towards the opposite side of the room, slamming roughly into the wall. It crumbled piece by piece from the impact of the two bodies.

Everyone in the room was silent, and the leader was smiling to himself.

"Big deal. They were useless fighters to begin with." Grumbled Mr. 1. I evened my breathing and realized that regardless of the rigorous combat I just went through, I had barely broken sweat. I frowned at the hole in my shirt and sighed.

"What a pity. I liked this shirt." I walked back over to my seat and sat down.

"Ha ha ha," His deep voice chuckled. "Very nice, Ms. 0. You're exactly as I had hoped you'd be."

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><p><strong>I know not a lot of people are interested in a One piece story that has nothing to do with the Mugiwara crew,<strong>

**But this was just sort of an interesting idea I came up with one day.**

**And it stars none other than one of my favorite characters, Crocodile !**

**I really do hope you guys enjoy and stick with it to reveal the truth behind who this girl really is .**

**Reviews are very appreciated ~**


	2. Chapter 2

After the meeting was finished, I followed Miss. All-Sunday to my assigned room. All of us, who were in the top thirteen, had rooms organized by our ranking. Therefore, Miss. All-Sunday and I were the ones closest to the boss.

"This one is yours." She said. I walked towards her and peeked inside from the doorway. A big, cushiony bed was placed on the far end of the room , embellished with red velvet and gold lacing. A canopy hung over the tops of it, giving it a fancy white sheen. I couldn't decide whether the net was for decoration or just to keep the bugs out at night. "Since you don't have anything with you, feel free to get comfortable any way you can." She turned to look at me with an expression I could not read. It was not angry, but not very welcoming either. "We all mostly just wait in our rooms until we get orders from Mr. 0." She seemed to be the only one who wasn't furious at me for having received such a high ranking so soon, perhaps because she herself was ranked even higher.

"No, I'm gonna go look around." I replied. It's not like I'd actually be staying there anyway. I pushed myself up from the doorway and began to make my way up the stairs to see what was making all the noise up above. She said nothing, but I could feel her eyes on me the entire time.

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><p>As I pushed past the last set of double doors, I was surprised to find myself in what seemed like a rather busy casino. Slot machines were everywhere and sitting in front of them were people hungry for wealth. Their eyes widened at the flipping images, and their arms pulled away at the lever almost systematically, each time full of hope they'd win it big. Little did they know what the machines were really doing to them. Off to the sides I saw roulette tables and groups of men clustered together, playing poker viciously. All of them, unsure of what the man beside them was going to do next. I quickly made my way to the front , pushing past herds of people in desperate attempts to reach the door. As soon as I stepped outside, I already began to feel my skin sizzling with heat.<p>

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><p>Once I made it into the market, I stopped and turned around to make sure I hadn't been followed. The only people I saw behind me were merchants and citizens bustling about to buy and sell things. I was beginning to wear out a bit since my body wasn't quite yet used to the heat, so I escaped under the canopy of a nearby shop for some shade.<p>

"Hello! May I help you?" The lady behind the counter asked me. As she smiled, I noticed many wrinkles forming around her eyes. Her personality seemed genuine, so I almost felt bad I couldn't buy anything.

"Just browsing," I smiled at her. She nodded understandingly and left to help out another girl who had just arrived.

"These fruits look so fresh," said the girl beside me, "I always love coming here into the market."

"What an honor it is to have the Princess herself, buy from my shop." The old lady cooed. My eyes suddenly lit up and I turned around. _Her voice, it sounds so familiar. I feel like know it from somewhere. _Long, electric blue hair fell down to her waist, and her cheeks were flushed from the heat. Somehow though, even in this scorching weather she managed to stay a pale pink color, while I, myself was already beginning to turn a nice shade of beige. She had an odd looking fruit in hand, and held it up to the woman.

"How much for a pound of these?" She asked.

"That'll be about 10 beri." The lady replied back.

"Great, I'll take a pound. Please, help me pick some out." The girl snatched a bag from the table and began picking out the fruits. She was grabbing what looked like much more than a pound, but the lady gladly helped her out anyway. _I must be imagining things. I doubt I'd be able to forget someone like that._ I shrugged and decided I'd best leave the shop. If I hung around for too long she might've thought I was going to buy something. "Is that-"

I was too far away to hear her finish her sentence. It most likely wasn't concerning me anyway, so I continued to walk on and find another area to camp out from the sun.

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><p>I soon came to a nice overhang in an alley, and slid my back down to meet the cool, brick wall. The walls casted a shady area, which was perfect for me to rest. The heat seemed to drain my energy more than anything.<p>

After a quite a while, I realized that I had no idea where I was headed. Sure, I'd been able to escape that casino for a bit, but what exactly was I searching for? I really had nowhere to go, and nothing to do but wait and see whether my memories would return to me. A single drop of sweat rolled down the side of my cheek and I wiped it away using my dirty shirt sleeve. Suddenly remembering my powers, I moved my fingers around and managed to create a mini whirlwind within my hand. I held it up near my face and let out a sigh of relief as the wind blew the hair out of my face.

"It's not very smart of you to hang in areas like this," I heard a menacing voice growl.

"Did you really think you could hide from us?" Out from the shadows came Mr. 1 and the lady who had previously fought with me, Miss. Doublefinger. I quickly got up from my feet and took a few steps back.

"Hiding? The only thing I'm hiding from is this heat." I replied wittingly.

"Being cocky will only get you hurt," He growled back.

"Why are you here?" I questioned. The two of them began taking steps towards me.

"The boss sent us. It was stupid for you to think you wouldn't get caught." She walked over to me with those crazy swaying hips once again, and I tried my hardest to hold in a laugh at her strange ways.

"I already told Raven-hair that I was going for a stroll." I told them. "No need to get so-" Suddenly, the woman ran at me and attacked me using her arms, which had now been transformed into thorns. Her arms kept my shoulders down and her legs kept mines pinned tight to the ground. Though she was only stabbing through my clothes, I couldn't help but feel a little panicked. I managed to keep a straight face.

"Don't do anything stupid." Mr. 1 yelled. "The boss wants her back alive."

"Hmph" She pouted. "I'm just making sure she doesn't go anywhere."

"Well then this won't do any good," I said. A surprised expression came across her face right before I puffed up my cheeks and blew her right out of the alley way. Then, I made a mad dash towards the market and ran back towards the fruit shop. I didn't stop to turn around.

The faces of the people I ran by were nothing but blurs in my eyes. I was only able to make out the blue hair of the girl from before. She was still standing by the fruit shop with several bags in her hands. I slowed down my pace and went under the canopy of the store once again. After all, Mr. 1 knew better than to attack me in public.

"Hello again!" I waved to lady with a grin plastered on my face.

"Oh, you're the young lady from before. Please, help yourself." She greeted me. I nodded and grabbed a bag from the counter and began picking out random fruits. From the corner of my eye I could see him prowling up behind me. He wouldn't dare attack me in public… would he?

As I was glancing around the shop, I kept feeling the blue-haired girl's eyes on me. In fact, not once did she avert her attention.

"… Is that you?" I kept my head low. _Is she talking to me? _If not, I didn't want to look stupid. For a while I didn't respond to her and let my hair fall into my face. "I.. guess not..." She mumbled after a while. She grabbed her bags from the counter. "Thanks a lot!" She said, waving to the woman, who returned it with a smile. I could feel Mr.1 kept getting closer and closer until I was unable to see him from my peripheral vision anymore. The lady gave up on waiting for me and made her way to the other end of the counter to greet another family. I continued picking the fruits and didn't turn around.

"Come with me or the hand comes off." I heard a chilling voice whisper in my ear. I felt a sharp blade press against my wrist and I let go of the bag.

"Fine." I said, "Let's hurry then. Before she comes back." I didn't know if he knew I was talking about the merchant woman, but he seemed to agree and pushed me along anyway.

* * *

><p>Upon reaching the casino, he took his arms off of mine and instead stayed close behind me and nudged me every once in a while for me to keep going.<p>

We walked all the way down the stairs, past the long hallway, and into our assigned bedrooms. He walked me towards my room and pointed inside.

"Go. The boss is waiting." He grimaced at me one last time before leaving me by the door. Cautiously, I entered.

Inside, I saw Mr. 0 sitting in a chair across the room.

"Come inside, and shut the door." He said with that sinister grin still plastered across his face. I did as I was told and made my way towards him, but stopped half way. "Don't worry. You're not being punished." He reassured me, and chuckled to himself. I furrowed my brows and didn't move from my spot. Instead, I plopped myself right on the floor.

"Tell me who I am."

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><p><strong>First of all, <strong>

**Happy new years guys :D**

**I really should be out partying but nope**

**Instead, I'm at home writing fanfic.**

**Not that I'm complaining, B)**

**Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter.**

**Oooohlala, what's gonna happen next?**

**Maybe some**

**Crocodile X Mysterious girl time?**

**Maybe her past will be revealed?**

**Until next time, Enjoy!~**

**Reviews are really appreciated~**


	3. Chapter 3

"I suppose I've kept it from you long enough." He said to me, "But you've got to show that you trust me, or there's no point in saying anything."

I cocked my head at him, "Trust? I'll believe you, if that's what you mean. It's not like anyone else is gonna be able to tell me anything."

A faint smile remained on his face as he gazed at me with those shark eyes. I twisted my mouth uncomfortably. "No," He said, "I mean fully trust me, and everything that I'm about to say." He released a puff of smoke from his mouth and pointed his finger at me. Boy did he wear a lot of rings. "Come closer. It's disrespectful for you to sit like that." He signaled for me to scoot forward.

"No," I shook my head stubbornly. "Tell me about who I am. After all, I'm useless to you if I don't know anything."

He leaned back in the chair and shut his eyes. "Very well then." He said sounding rather unsatisfied. I bit my lip in angst and leaned forward to listen. "You were a former member of Baroque Works. My partner, actually, before Miss. All-Sunday took your place." He rolled the cigar in between his fingers as he spoke. "This is an organization of bounty hunters. Our base, as you know, is located right beneath the most popular casino in Arabasta."

I nodded slowly, "Why was I in a cage?" I asked him, "And how come no one else has heard of me?"

"I was getting to that," He said. "You see, there's a royal family that rules all of Arabasta. Their king, Nefertari Cobra, and his daughter, Nefertari Vivi have control over the entire land. One of their head guards, Pell, found out that you had quite a bounty on your head. He ambushed you in the middle of the desert, and left you there to die. You were missing for quite a while," He turned to look at me, "We were unable to find you. Hence, the reason why I replaced you with Miss. All-Sunday. You were beaten unconscious and left in the heat for so long, that by the time we found you, you were delusional. The only other way to help you was to give you the revival potion. It was said to cure any injuries completely, but the only side effect was that it wipes the user's memory forever."

I listened contently, still waiting for him to answer my questions. "But what about the ca-"

"I'm not finished," He barked. I pressed my lips together and looked back up at him, signaling him to continue. "The only way to protect you while you were healing was to lock you up in that cage. That way, even if he were to find you here, he'd be unable to touch you at all. He's a devil fruit user himself, you see. And even if he weren't, the bars were made of sea stone, which is a material strong beyond any man's strength. You were asleep and healing for almost 4 days. And after you woke up, you remembered nothing." He took a long drag from his cigar, and then held it between his middle and index finger. The smoke rose up and quickly disappeared into the ceiling. "As for the situation regarding the other members," He averted his attention towards the floor, "I typically keep the identity of my partners a secret, with the exception of this one time. That's why they'd never heard of you and were upset to find out that you were higher ranked than all of them."

I nodded my head, satisfied with his answers. They made sense for the most part, and fit together pretty well. Even if he was lying, I really had no other choice but to believe him. "Thank you," I said. He did nothing but scoff in reply. "I still have another question though." I stood up and brushed off my pants. He turned to look at me and raised an eyebrow. The cigar remained clamped between his upper and lower jaw. "Why are you letting me off so easy?" I questioned, "You were the one who sent those two goons after me, weren't you? I was expecting at least some sort of punishment when I got here."

Something in his eyes changed, as he stood up from the chair. "I'm not being nice to you. Don't misunderstand me. I could kill you if I wanted." He grinded the cigar between his teeth.

"Really now? Then why haven't you?" He towered over me by several feet, but I stood my ground.

"You're an asset. Killing you wouldn't be very beneficial to Baroque Works, or for me."

I scoffed at him, "You're lying. You can't kill me. You don't have the guts." I didn't know where these words were coming from, but they kept spilling out from my mouth. I kept taunting him.

"You witty, unthankful little…" He growled, dropping his cigar to the ground. He took one step towards me and pushed me towards the wall. I hit it with a loud thud and winced at the impact. His arm pressed down against my shoulder and he leaned in close to my face. "I could do it right now. Drain all the life out of that little body of yours till you're nothing but a pile of dust."

My heart began to beat faster as I realized how quickly this situation had escalated. For some reason though, I didn't feel afraid at all. So what? It's not like I had anything to live for anymore. If I was going to die, I might as well embrace it. "I've murdered countless numbers of people before and never felt a thing. This one little death wont faze me at all." His head was pressing so close against me that I could practically feel his breath on my collar. It smelled like cigar smoke and wine. I took in a deep breath, "Don't think that'll work on me." He said. I gasped, as if he was able to read my mind. "I have a Logia fruit; Your wind powers won't affect me at all."

"Haha, you're pretty cocky for a sand-man." I smirked at him. The taunting words kept coming.

"Now that I think of it, I've got you replaced. You're basically worthless to me now." He gripped my shoulders tightly in his hand, and I let out a little squeal. "It's a shame that pretty face has to go to waste." I shut my eyes, preparing myself for death.

I waited, and waited, but nothing felt different. I was still alive.

Suddenly, he loosened his grip on my shoulder and left it resting there. His body was still pressed up against mine. I opened my eyes and the last thing I saw was the large scar running across his face before our lips met. I gasped and felt my body freeze up. They felt so much softer than I had imagined, and so very warm. He let out a little exhale as he pulled away from me.

I fell to my knees, as I suddenly felt them go weak. What just happened?

He released his grip from my shoulders completely and I slowly slid down to the floor, holding my head. I heard the door slowly creak open and his footsteps leaving the room. After that, I passed out.

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><p>"Awake yet?" I felt a strong throbbing in the back of my head as soon as I woke up. I pushed myself up from the bed slowly and rubbed my eyes.<p>

"What are you doing in here?" I asked her. I didn't need to look up to see who it was. I could recognize that soothing voice anywhere.

"Did you want me to leave you on the floor?" She joked half-heartedly. Her small, doll-like face and charcoal black hair came into vision. I let out a little yawn. "You sure sleep a lot."

"It's not really sleeping as much as passing out…" I muttered. She laughed a little and I couldn't help but let a little smile escape my lips.

"Do you remember what happened, or have you forgotten that too?"

"Give me a second," I said, scratching my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to think. I remembered something warm, something musky smelling, something with a scar…

"Seems the boss has quite a thing for you." She said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Oh, that's right… we…" Suddenly, everything began to come back to me. It couldn't have actually happened, could it?

"I've never seen the boss so infatuated with someone before. You should see how he treats the other runaways." She rested her cheek on her hand and gazed at me almost dreamily.

"No way…" I said. _No way…_

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><p><strong>Hey guys, Here's the third chapter :)<strong>

**Dear god I've been waiting to write this chapter for so long heheh**

**I just have the biggest crush on that man i swear~**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**reviews are very appreciated ~**


	4. Chapter 4

"I want you to kill this man and collect his bounty." These words were beginning to sound a bit too familiar, like that annoying alarm clock that went off every morning, regardless of how many times you turned it off. Any normal person would surely react in a panic after receiving such orders, but not me. In fact, this was the only thing I'd been hearing for the past few weeks, other than a few rephrased versions of it.

"Yes, sir." I answered robotically. A grim smile found its way across his face as he handed me the bounty sign. The paper crinkled in my hand as I gripped it tightly.

"Make sure you're careful, he's a devil fruit user." He said to me, "Not that I'm worried about you getting hurt." I turned around and walked out of his dimly lit room. "Off you go." His voiced followed me out to the door. I could see his shadow in the corner of my eye, leaning back in his chair. I always wondered why he kept it so dark in there. Perhaps it was to hide that hideous, scarred face of his.

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><p>It didn't take very long for me to knock the guy out. Two kicks to the gut and a punch in the jaw was enough to send him flying. After a few weeks I found myself to be quite the fighter. Like that little battle I had in the conference room with Mr. 2 and Miss Doublefinger, all the right moves seemed to just flow out of me naturally, as if I'd been fighting my whole life. Not that I'd remember.<p>

I never exactly killed any of my victims. But I had to get the job done somehow. Instead, I'd make sure they were completely unconscious, then left the body out for someone else in Baroque works to take care of. All of the workers were strange, screwed up individuals. I knew them well enough to know they'd never leave a body out in the open without making sure it was dead first. Whether they killed to get promoted or just for the pure enjoyment of killing I didn't know exactly. The fighting wasn't that bad, but the murder was just a bit too savage for my liking.

I gently shut the man's eyelids and pushed his hat over his eyes in respect. He sat still against the wall, slightly hunched over with his arms piled neatly on top of one another. He looked like an old rag doll, propped up slouchily against the brick wall. My eyes dropped down to my feet and I turned around. Trying my hardest not to burn this night into my memory, I stealthily escaped into the night.

It didn't matter whether or not I killed the man myself; knowing that I was the reason for someone's death was a feeling I'd never get used to.

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><p>"How dare you disobey me?" Strong, thick hands slammed themselves onto the desk in front of me. "I clearly stated in the instructions to <em>kill<em> him. Not leave him out and let him get away! Do you know what could've happened if he were to wake up?" He wasn't exactly yelling at me, but I could clearly tell he was upset. It just wasn't in his character to raise his voice, that's all. "Maybe I should just take your life in replacement of his."

He was beginning to get riled up, and I already knew better than to argue with him at this point. When he said he'd kill someone, he stuck to his words, excluding whatever happened with me that one time. I was beginning to doubt it ever even happened in the first place. After that night, he never showed any affection towards me again, and barely spoke to me unless he was giving me orders. Plus, after passing out, everything became pretty hazy for me. Honestly speaking, I don't think I would've minded dying that night. I couldn't remember anything about myself, so what was the difference between being dead or alive?

"Killing just isn't in my nature." I said to him, pressing my lips together.

"Isn't in your nature?" He shook his head as if I were the dumbest person on the planet. "I know you better than you know yourself, and trust me. You were a killing machine back then, and you're a killing machine now. I don't want to hear this crap about 'not being in your nature". People don't change." He took a long drag from his cigar and released the smoke. I didn't want to listen anymore. I ignored him and instead focused my gaze on the newspaper lying on his desk. "ROYAL FAMILY STILL IN CRISIS" I think was what the headline said. Mr. 0 never let me read newspapers. He said it didn't matter to me what the outside world was worrying about, and I shouldn't care anyway, or it'd make me weaker. I never really understood the logic behind that.

"Why don't you ever let me wander the city?" I asked, changing the subject. "Maybe I'd be able to remember better if I could go outside."

"Why? Because you don't get to decide what to do. I own you, and therefore I get to choose." He stated rather rashly. "Plus, since you've got no choice but to believe me, you are who I say you are."

"Are you saying it's a possibility that you've been lying to me?" I asked, now looking up at him. He stared at me with dead, shark eyes for a long time before averting his attention to his cigar. He took it out of his mouth and held it between his index and middle finger.

"Now why would I lie to you?" He asked me precariously, like he was desperately trying to keep his chain of lies from breaking.

"You've got all the reasons in the world to lie to me. I'm nothing but a tool to you."

"You're right." He smirked at me. "You're exactly that, a tool. And I could discard of you any time I want, so you just be careful and listen to my orders from now on." His scornfulness made me feel a little disorientated. "Leave, now. And I don't want to hear about any more of your slacking off, you understand?"

I stood up from the chair and bowed towards him. "I understand." He seemed satisfied enough and took another drag from his cigar. A large puff of smoke rose up into the air. I took this as a signal to leave, and so I headed towards the door and left.

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><p>In my room, I laid sprawled across my bed with a pillow on my stomach. I wondered to myself what the outside world was like. The only time I was permitted to get out of the casino was at night, to complete my missions. Even then, there wasn't much I could see or do. He kept me locked up in my room all day and didn't allow me to speak with any of the other members.<p>

I hated it. I hated everything. I hated the satin bed sheets and the millions of pillows stacked around my bed. I hated the stupid paintings on the wall that seemed to morph into something else every time I looked. I hated the white tile floors that had lost their shininess a long time ago. Everything in that room made me sick.

The atmosphere of the room was even beginning to feel heavier, like it was wrapping itself around my throat, making it hard for me to breathe. It wasn't humane to keep someone locked up in the same place for so long. Insane, actually. I grabbed the pillow and hurled it against the wall, causing vase on a nearby shelf to shatter. I couldn't very well explain how I was feeling, other than very, very frustrated.

For the past few weeks I had been Mr. 0's puppet. I did everything he told me to and I didn't bother to question anything. This wasn't who I was. I didn't care what he said, none of this felt right at all. I began to feel my heart racing and the image of the casino doors flashed into my mind. The feeling of the hot sun dancing on my skin and the warm, desert air filling my lungs was too amazing to be described with words. I had to go outside. I had to experience it once more.

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><p>Getting past the first few doors was no big deal, since everyone was too preoccupied in their own rooms and didn't care enough to check on me. The only big challenge was how I was going to get out of the casino unseen. Last time I tried, Miss All-Sunday almost scared living crap out of me when she appeared at the door. That was the last time I could remember seeing Arabasta in the day time. I didn't care about what I was risking; I had to get out.<p>

I peeked around the corner to make sure Mr. 0 and Miss All-Sunday weren't around. They didn't seem to be anywhere near or in sight at least. I took this as a chance to run straight towards the doors and push my way out to freedom. To think those red doors were the only thing keeping me from reality was a pathetic thought. Once outside I half expected to get dragged right back into my room and never let out again, but no one was there. Instead, toasty beams of sunlight pulled me out of my solitude lifestyle and reintroduced me to the beauty of the outside world.

I took several deep breaths of air. It was a bit dustier than I remembered, but wonderful nonetheless. It was really something; to feel air that wasn't running through vents a few minutes ago, filling your lungs. I'd never felt more at peace.

I pranced deeper into the city to admire everything else I'd been missing out on. I knew I was going to get caught eventually, so I had to make the most of it till I did. The market was pretty much exactly as I remembered, though my image of it had gotten the slightest bit hazy. It was still bustling and several people were hiding under the shades of the shop canopies.

I didn't realize how hungry I was until the smell of fresh ribs found its way into my nose. I followed the lingering smell until it led me into a large steak house, and I let myself go inside. The floors and tables were all made of wood, along with pretty much everything else in the restaurant. I took a seat down at the counter in the back of the shop and turned myself around to face the other customers. I rested my arms on the counter behind me and leaned back.

It was strange to see faces of people other than baroque works agents, or the bounties that I hunted. I couldn't help but smile at some of the ways the people talked and interacted with one another. So this was what real life felt like.

"You here to eat something or just gawk at them other customers?" I heard a voice behind me say. I quickly turned around and found myself face-to-face with a man with a large, thick beard wearing an old, stained apron. "Oh, you're a small one, aint ya?" He said. "So what'll it be, lil miss?" He pulled out an old notepad from his pocket and grabbed the pen from behind his ear. Aside from his comment, he seemed like a nice enough guy. He looked like the fatherly, grandpa type. One that always told 'back in my day' stories.

"Oh, I- I can't afford…" I stuttered nervously. I didn't have a single beri on me, but boy I really was starving. The food and the aroma was practically taunting me.

"You poor thing. You look so thin. How's about you order somethin' and it'll be on the house. My treat." He grinned at me, revealing two rows of uneven yellow teeth. I gasped, amazed at how nice people were in the outside world. This wasn't as bad as I thought. Was this because I was a girl? Or did I actually look that skinny?

"That's awfully nice of you, Otto. We could really use more people like you in this city." A man sitting beside me said. I hadn't even noticed he was there. He was dressed in all white clothes and his eyes had two strange symbols drawn down all the way to the bottom of his chin. His lips were thin and dark, and his skin was white as paper.

"Well, what kinda cruel person would just let her stave like that? Besides, we'd never leave a hungry person unsatisfied. That's just not in our nature." The old man grinned proudly. I couldn't help but let a little smile escape my lips as well. This was a pretty nice reintroduction of people for me.

"Well aren't you just a big softie for a cute girl…" The man in white chuckled. He picked up his glass from the table and took a sip. We met eyes for a second and I looked away. "Hey, wait a minute," The man put down his drink and stared directly at me. "You…" He leaned in a little closer to me. "It's you!"

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><p><strong>Hi guys! Long time no update huh?<strong>

**:C Sorry~ I've been really busy with school and other things, **

**but alas, I am back! :')**

**I hope you guys like this chapter,**

**Nothing much happens I'm sorry, but it's a huuuge lead in for the next chapter,**

**which will be pretty interesting... :D**

**I'm pretty sure I'll finish this story, so thanks so much for reading!**

******Reviews are greatly appreciated!~**


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